He narrowed his gaze and examined her, but nodded. “If you’re sure. I’ll see you later.”
He brushed a kiss across her forehead and rushed back into the house. A few minutes later, she caught sight of his SUV as he rounded the corner on his way to his office.
She forced down another bite of toast and a sip of the tea. It worked some magic since she was soon feeling good enough to get dressed and head to work.
The beach replenishment project she was managing was going well. As she reviewed the progress with one of the representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers, it was apparent that the project was on schedule. They’d finish restoring the beach by October, just in time for the Hurricane Sandy anniversary.
It made her proud of the work she was doing and that she was a part of helping things get back to normal along the Jersey Shore.
It was a beautiful September day and being out on the beach, supervising what was happening, was restorative. She was feeling much better by the time she left for home, but to be on the safe side, she stopped by a pharmacy and picked up a few different pregnancy tests. Stuffing her purchases into her knapsack, she hurried home, eager to take one of the tests and alleviate her worries.
But when she arrived at home, Mark had beat her there and was already making dinner.
“I’m a lucky woman,” she teased and squeezed his butt as he stood by the island in the kitchen, preparing some salad fixings.
“I see you’re feeling better,” he said and hugged her hard.
“Much better,” she admitted and snatched a cucumber slice from the cutting board.
He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “How much better?”
“Way better.”
He scooped her into his arms and almost jogged up the stairs to their bedroom.
With each step they took toward the bed, another piece of clothing fell off until they were naked and she sat on the edge of the bed, Mark tucked between her spread-eagled legs.
“I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re even more beautiful.” He cradled her breasts and tugged her nipples gently, but the action made her cry out in pleasure-pain. They were incredibly sensitive and he tempered his caress, bent, and kissed each one tenderly.
“So beautiful,” he repeated, licking her nipples and making her shake with want.
“Mark, please,” she keened and braced her feet on the frame of the bed, exposing herself.
“Fuck, Bridget. You make me crazy.” He kissed his way down her body to her center and sucked hard on her swollen clit. He eased his fingers into her and she clenched around him, quickly at the edge of her climax.
If this is what pregnancy hormones did to you, I’m all onboard, she thought as with another suck of his mouth and twist of his fingers, her orgasm swept over her.
Mark nearly came at the sight of her, lost in pleasure. Her breasts were fuller and her nipples were darker, like ripe berries. His mouth watered and his cock swelled as the aroma of her arousal and her cries of satisfaction filled his senses.
He bent and tasted her nipples again. So sweet and so sensitive. Against his hand her pussy throbbed with each tender pull of his mouth.
It was more than he could take. He guided himself to her center and drove in, working himself deep within. Fighting for control as with each lick and suck of his mouth, she caressed him.
She pushed against the bed with those strong lean legs he loved and he broke away from her breasts to watch her. With each thrust of his hips, she welcomed him until he was almost mindlessly plowing into her, savoring her release and seeking his own.
He reached down, cupped her buttocks, and tilted the angle of her hips. With a few more deep thrusts, his climax crashed over him. He ground into her and stilled, lost in her in every way that was possible.
“I love you, Bridget. I love you,” he said and kissed her.
“I love you, too,” Bridget whispered against his lips and embraced him.
She wanted to share her suspicions, but was afraid to do so in case she was wrong. The last thing she wanted was to give him hope and then disappoint him. Instead, she kept her secrets and held him close until the last fleeting remnants of their loving faded.
Together they dressed and shared dinner. Cuddled together on the couch afterward to watch a movie and make love again.
She didn’t think she could ever get enough of him and was thankful that he seemed to feel the same way.
Sated, they climbed into bed and she fell asleep almost instantly. But she was jolted abruptly awake early the next morning by another sickening storm of nausea. She raced to the bathroom and lost last night’s meal.
Mark was immediately at her side, comforting her until the bout of sickness had passed.
“Are you okay? Maybe you should go see a doctor,” he said and brushed a sweat-dampened lock of hair back from her face.
“I’m all right. I just need a second,” she said and although he was reluctant, he agreed and left her alone.
She braced her hands on the toilet seat and stood. Washed her hands, rinsed her mouth, brushed her teeth, and grabbed one of the pregnancy tests from where she had hidden them in the wicker basket with the guest towels.
Following the directions in the box, she took the first test and within minutes, the little plus sign confirmed her suspicions.
“Bridget, can I do anything?” Mark said from beyond the wood of the door, his voice slightly muffled.
“Not right now, honey,” she called out and grabbed a second test kit. She didn’t want to take any chances and be wrong about her suspicions.
She repeated the test and again it came up positive. She placed the test on the edge of the sink next to the first one. Stared at them for a moment before pulling out the last and final kit. A fancy digital one that would not only confirm her pregnancy, but tell her just how pregnant she might be.
Just as the other two had indicated, she was pregnant and this test put her at three plus weeks of pregnancy.
“Bridget, babe. Are you okay? I’m getting worried,” he said and rattled the doorknob, but she had locked the door.
She laid the last test down on the sink next to the other two, washed her hands, unlocked the door, and opened it.
With frown lines and lines of worry across his forehead, he stepped inside and laid his hands on her waist, but before he could say anything, she pointed in the direction of the sink.
He screwed his eyes almost closed as he glanced at them and tried to make out what they were, but then his gaze popped wide open and he shook his head. “I don’t get it. Why – ”
“Because I’m pregnant, Mark. I’m going to have our baby,” she said and cradled his cheeks in both hands.
He paled to a sickly white and wobbled.
She guided him to the toilet seat to sit, raked her fingers through his hair, and laid her hands on his shoulders. “Did you hear what I said, Mark?”
He wagged his head back and forth over and over. “It’s not possible, Bridget. The doctors said – ”
“It would take a miracle and those three tests over there say that’s what happened. A miracle.”
He buried his head against her breasts and splayed one hand against her still flat belly. “I didn’t dare think this would ever happen, but you know what my true miracle was?”
Confused, she shook her head and met his gaze. “No, I don’t.”
“You, Bridget. That one night together. Up until that one night, I didn’t dare hope that I’d find someone like you.”
She smiled, bent, and kissed him. “Well, I’m yours and I know we’re going to have lots more nights together.”
“Lots lots more. Even if the baby keeps us awake some nights,” he said with a broad unrepentant grin.
She grinned broadly and said, “You’re a resourceful man, Captain. I know you’ll find a way to juggle fatherhood and being my husband.”
“Fatherhood and husband. Two words I never thought would apply to me, Bridget. You don’t know how happy
it makes me when hear those words.”
She raked her fingers through his hair and cradled the back of his head. “Just as happy as it makes me to say those words. I love you, Mark. I know you’ll make a fabulous father and an amazing husband. There’s just one problem.”
He narrowed his gaze and considered her. “What’s the problem?”
“I don’t want to wait another six months to get married. How does next week sound?”
He laughed and shot to his feet. “If I could get a Navy fleet moving, I think I can make our wedding happen by next week.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him hard. “Just as I said before, Captain. You are totally resourceful.”
“And I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving that you,” he said, kissed her and swept her up into his arms.
She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of that and figured she’d better enjoy it now before the baby made it impossible. As he laid her on the bed and followed her down, she let herself enjoy that as well.
The man was truly and incredibly inventive and she knew they’d share many more mornings and nights of pleasure . . . and of love.
Dear Reader
I hope you’re enjoying the military heroes and their loved ones in the Take a Chance series. It has been such a rewarding and challenging experience to explore the dynamics of the relationships and the challenges of loving a military hero. It has also been a challenge to provide you with sexy stories that were still chock full of romance and emotion, and that end with happily-ever-afters. I don’t know about you, but I need to feel the love and know that my hero and heroine will find the person who will complete them.
The next novella in the series will be even more emotional and romantic. You’ve met both the hero and heroine in ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE and here’s a little blurb about that upcoming novella, EMBRACE THE NIGHT (Late Spring 2015)
Zack Taylor was physically changed by his time in the military. A below-the-knee amputee, Zack is determined to rebuild his life. The last thing he’s thinking about is any kind of romantic involvement, but when he meets Lieutenant Commander Samantha Whittaker, she makes him rethink what he wants in his new life.
After nearly dying in combat, Samantha Whittaker is emotionally fragile and challenging herself with an enlistment in the Coast Guard. She’s convinced that facing her fear head on, and alone, is the only way she can get on with her life. The last thing she wants is to be attracted to a sexy and younger man, but Zack is just too hard to resist.
How will she react to discovering his secret and revealing her own fears?
I can’t wait to write Zack and Samantha’s story! Thank you for all your support for this series.
Other Novellas in the Take a Chance Series:
STAY THE NIGHT, December 2014
TAKE A CHANCE Box set, November 2014
ONE LAST NIGHT, October 2014
ONE SPECIAL NIGHT, August 2014
JUST ONE NIGHT, June 2014
Copyright Notice
Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as “unsold or destroyed” and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Caridad Piñeiro Scordato
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of Caridad Piñeiro Scordato.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
Visit Caridad’s website at www.caridad.com.
ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE Cover design ©2015 Caridad Pineiro Scordato
Manufactured in the United States of America
About the Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestseller Caridad Pineiro is a Jersey Girl who just wants to write, travel, and spend more time with family and friends. Caridad is the author of nearly 50 novels/novellas and loves romance novels, super heroes, TV and cooking. Caridad writes dark and sexy romantic suspense, erotic military romance, and paranormal romances for those who live to love on the edge. Her sweet, but still naughty side, Charity Pineiro, writes contemporary romances packed with emotion and humor. For more information on Caridad/Charity, please visit http://www.caridad.comor http://www.rebornvampirenovels.com. You can also find Caridad/Charity on:
Twitter at https://twitter.com/caridadpineiro
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Caridad.Author
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Tsu at https://www.tsu.co/CaridadPineiro
Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/Caridad_Pineiro
Caridad also sends out a newsletter to her friends! To subscribe, please visit http://bit.ly/CaridadNews.
Additional Books by the Author
Additional Books by the Author Writing as Charity Pineiro
NOW AND ALWAYS June 2013 ISBN 1490362770
FAITH IN YOU July 2013 ISBN 1490412697
TORI GOT LUCKY December 2013
THE PERFECT MIX March 2013
TO CATCH HER MAN April 2014
SECOND CHANCE AT PERFECT October 2014
Additional Books by the Author Writing as Caridad Pineiro
Books in the Gambling for Love Romantic Suspense Series
THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE November 2012 ISBN 9781622668007 Entangled Publishing
TO CATCH A PRINCESS August 2013 ISBN 9781622661329 Entangled Publishing
Books in the Sin Hunter Paranormal Romance Series
THE CLAIMED May 2012 ISBN 978-0446584609 Forever Grand Central Publishing
THE LOST August 2011 ISBN 978-0446584616 Forever Grand Central Publishing
STRONGER THAN SIN November 2010 ISBN 0446543845 Forever Grand Central Publishing
SINS OF THE FLESH November 2009 ISBN 0446543837 Forever Grand Central Publishing
Other Novels by Caridad
THE FIFTH KINDOM July 2011 ISBN 9781426891885 Carina Press
SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD Dec 2008 ISBN 0373276109 Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Novellas
GHOST OF A CHANCE, paranormal short story November 2012 ISBN B00AUGV89G Caridad Pineiro Publishing
HER VAMPIRE LOVER October 2012 ISBN 9781459242289 Nocturne Cravings Novella
NIGHT OF THE COUGAR June 2012 ISBN 9781459231153 Nocturne Cravings Novella
THE VAMPIRE’S CONSORT April 2012 ISBN 9781459222731 Harlequin Nocturne Cravings Novella
NOCTURNAL WHISPERS February 2012 ISBN 9781459221437 Harlequin Nocturne Cravings Novella
AMAZON AWAKENING December 2011 ISBN 9781459282766 Available Harlequin Nocturne Cravings Novella
WHEN HERALD ANGELS SING novella in A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS October 2011 ISBN 0373776446 HQN
AZTEC GOLD January 2011 ISBN 9781426891045 Carina Press Novella
Crazy for the Cat in MOON FEVER Oct 2007 ISBN 1416514902 Pocket Books
Books in THE CALLING/THE REBORN Vampire Novel Series
VAMPIRE REBORN, April 2014
DIE FOR LOVE, December 2013, Entangled Publishing
BORN TO LOVE, November 2013, ISBN 9781622663705 Entangled Pub
lishing
TO LOVE OR SERVE, October 2013, ISBN 9781622663477 Entangled Publishing
FOR LOVE OR VENGEANCE, September 2013, ISBN 9781622662937 Entangled Publishing
KISSED BY A VAMPIRE (formerly ARDOR CALLS) October 2012 ISBN 9780373885589 Harlequin Nocturne
AWAKENING THE BEAST Collection featuring HONOR CALLS October 2009 ISBN 0373250940 Silhouette Nocturne
FURY CALLS March 2009 ISBN 0373618077 Silhouette Nocturne
HONOR CALLS February 2009 ISBN 9781426828362 Nocturne Bite
HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE December 2007 ISBN 0373617763 Silhouette Nocturne
THE CALLING COMPLETE COLLECTION October 2008 ISBN 9781426807657 Silhouette Includes Darkness Calls, Danger Calls, Temptation Calls, Death Calls, Devotion Calls, and Blood Calls–as well as the online read Desire Calls.
BLOOD CALLS May 2007 ISBN 0373617631 Silhouette Nocturne
DEVOTION CALLS January 2007 ISBN 0373617550 Silhouette Nocturne
DEATH CALLS Dec 2006 ISBN 0373617534 Silhouette Nocturne
TEMPTATION CALLS Oct 2005 ISBN 0373274602 Silhouette Intimate Moments
DANGER CALLS June 2005 ISBN 0373274416 Silhouette Intimate Moments
DARKNESS CALLS Mar 2004 ISBN 0373273533 Silhouette Intimate Moments
Romantic Suspense Series
SECRET AGENT REUNION Aug 2007 ISBN 0373275463 Silhouette Romantic Suspense
MORE THAN A MISSION Aug 2006 ISBN 037327498X Silhouette Intimate Moments
One Night of Pleasure: Military Romance Featuring a Sexy Navy Hero (Take a Chance Book 5) Page 6